Wednesday, August 1, 2012

#NBCFAIL Gains Traction

Dating back to ancient Greece, the Olympic games are embedded into our global psyche. Foot and chariot races, mortal combat and various athletic events. The ancient Olympics had it all. Participants put aside grievances for the duration of the games. It was big deal then, and it's a big deal now.

The Olympics have also seen some proud moments in American history. The 1936 Olympics saw Jesse Owens stick it to Hitler's view of racial supremacy. The 1980 Olympics gave us America the underdog. Over the years, the Olympics have been a great platform for America to showcase its way of life in contrast to other nations. It's been a positive, changing force.

2012, not so much. At some point the powerful emperors overseeing the games became even more powerful mega-corporations. It's hard for me to identify the exact Olympics where athleticism gave way to product placement, and where national pride gave way to Nielsen Ratings. But certainly that's the world we live in now.

And so it's very gratifying for me to see a little bit of backlash against NBC. Who would've thought that a single person would call a mega-corporation to task for putting the almighty dollar ahead of the ideals the Olympics have always stood for. The equivalent act in ancient times would've seen people making those sorts of remarks become part of the Olympics, and not in a good way.

So, it's great seeing #NBCFAIL gain momentum. Could it be that there's a way for a corporations to make money from national events and still be inclusive? Maybe the games should be run by non-profits from this point forward. Either way, the Olympics in its current incarnation is not something I have any interest in watching. Maybe some day it will return to its previous glory. In the mean time, please buy more _your_product_here.